In large-caliber weapons, especially cannons, a guide arrangement is customarily provided to permit longitudinal movement of the barrel of the cannon for the recoil thereof.
It is important for a high firing rate that this movement should be as free as possible. For high firing accuracies, moreover, the movement should be free from play to the greatest possible extent.
In the past the guide arrangements which were used provided slideways in which the barrel was shifted and which received the barrel with a certain amount of play since, with rapid firing, the barrel became heated and this play was necessary to prevent binding of the barrel in the guide. As a result, the play introduced inexactitudes in the positioning of the weapon and decreased the firing precision.